Small Planet Delicatessen & Bakery now serving Southside

Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times
Eileen De La Garza (from left) places an order with Lora Johnson while Julian Olalde prepares a dessert on Tuesday at the new Small Planet Delicatessen & Bakery on Saratoga Boulevard. The second location opened in February.

Corpus Christi Caller-Times

CORPUS CHRISTI - Steve DeHart, 39, has tripled his deli business by following his patrons — literally.

The Lamar Park lunch deli, with its shaded adjacent ivy-draped patio, expanded Feb. 16 with a new Southside operation already basking in a brightly lit center stage as anchor eatery of Saratoga Station.

"We saw a lot of our clientele move to the Southside, and we were asked by many customers to open a second location," DeHart said. "The feedback has been great from a lot of people who know the Small Planet product, and they are thrilled we're closer to home for them."

Southside staff hustled Wednesday to restock supplies to serve a lunch crush that filled the 3,200-square-foot restaurant. "Big" now means more dining space, a broader sandwich menu with specialty scone, canelé and éclair pastries to nibble with European coffee already largely well-received, DeHart said. The daily onslaught leaves front counter menus laying in a plush waiting area on comfort seating and a coffee table. It's where newcomers prowl for their favorite fare beneath mod chandeliers before lining up to order at the counter.

"It's a really cute place," said Nurse Maegan Hill.

She found the Lamar Park restaurant about two years ago after her family moved to Corpus Christi from California, she said. She revisited the original location Tuesday for a club sandwich lunch with her youngest of two sons, before perusing windows in the upscale center. "My favorite is the southwest sandwich, but it's all good food."

DeHart is from Southern Calif. He now lives in Port Aransas.

He bought the well-established Lamar Park business about six years ago.

The new deli already has nearly three times the staff of the original, DeHart said. It's partly because hours have been extended to also serve dinner, and breakfast is in the works.

"We're still working out a few kinks on serving dinner," DeHart said. "I hoped to have full-range breakfast by now, but haven't felt comfortable enough with all the fast changes.